


Through Your Eyes

by etherephil



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Comedy, FBI Agent AU, M/M, Memes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 04:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13826061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etherephil/pseuds/etherephil
Summary: Dan is an FBI agent who has been assigned to a particular YouTuber, AmazingPhil (the meme was calling my name)





	1. Chapter 1

Dan sighed loudly as he sat down at his computer, cup of piping hot tea in hand. He barely stifled a yawn as he put down the cup and typed in his password to log onto the computer. After a short few seconds of loading, his home screen popped up. 

“Oi, Dan. You're being relocated to a new person today,” Bea said, rolling over to Dan in her swivel chair. She handed him back a beige coloured folder filled with documents on the person he was to be watching. Yay. 

Dan thanked his colleague and put the folder down on the desk, opening it up and taking a sip of his too hot drink. The file was on a well known YouTuber named Phil Lester(AmazingPhil online). It had a copy of his birth certificate and some forms about where he went to university. He seemed like a pretty well rounded guy to Dan. 

Dan opened up his browser and typed in the code given for Phil Lester’s laptop. He watched the screen’s synchronisation for a few seconds, taking the time to blow on his drink and take a tentative sip. His computer was now turned on to a popular website Dan frequented, Tumblr. 

That wouldn't be so bad. He once had to stalk a guy’s computer while he looked at facts about cheese for 3 hours and then porn for another 4. He was still traumatised. 

Apparently, Phil was scrolling through an endless stream of animal videos and pictures, double tapping on almost every single one. Dan rolled his eyes; does he have to like everything on this website? 

Another two hours later, Dan was still watching the man’s constant scrolling, trying to keep from giggling at some of the memes that had popped up a few times. Some of them even included the mysterious FBI agent watching everyone. It was a rather funny meme. 

“Goodness! Is he still on Tumblr? Wasn't he on it, like, an hour ago?” Enrique, one of Dan’s work friends, commented as he stopped by Dan’s desk on the way back from getting a chocolate muffin. Dan shrugged, smirking at a video of a kitten sneezing and falling off a couch. “Oh, that's funny. I’ve seen that one before,” Enrique added, chuckling and continuing on his way. 

Dan finished his second cup of tea just as Phil finally, FINALLY, exited off of Tumblr and pulled up YouTube. He typed quickly, Dan noticed, and pulled up a compilation of old vines that supposedly cured someone’s depression. Dan leaned back in his seat; he always enjoyed these videos. 

He was midway through a third compilation, made up mostly of the same exact vines in a different order, when Tanya wandered over to his desk, clutching a rolled up magazine and a can of Sprite. “Enrique says your guy's been watching vines all day. Having fun over here?” Tanya asked, raising her eyebrows suspiciously.   
Dan managed to keep from rolling his eyes and replied stiffly, “Yup. But my last guy ended up getting arrested for fraud after watching a bunch of cat videos all day, so we can never be too sure.” Tanya nodded slowly, disbelievingly and turned away, heading back to her office. 

Dan and Tanya had never exactly seen eye to eye, what with Dan having a one night stand with her sister almost a year ago and then awkwardly ghosting her. Tanya, who was one of his supervisors, unfortunately, took it to heart and made it her duty to make Dan’s life a living hell. She was a bitch and Dan was thankful that he was getting promoted soon. Maybe then he could be finished with monitoring random people’s computers and leave Tanya forever. 

The vine compilation ended and Phil’s screen went black. Dan sighed in relief. As much as he enjoyed Vine compilations and Tumblr, watching someone else doing it for hours was a bit boring. Maybe now he could take a quick break to use the toilet. 

Dan scooted his chair back and was only halfway standing before his screen flashed and he got a notification that Phil had unlocked his iPhone. 

“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Dan whined, sitting back down again to watch Phil scroll through his phone. 

¿?

Dan had to admit. Phil was pretty damn cute. From stalking his computer and phone for almost two weeks, Dan could say for certain that this guy was absolutely adorable. 

He spent the majority of his time watching funny animal videos and video compilations and his text conversations were always filled to the brim with emojis and GIFs of all kinds, along with perfect grammar and sentence structure and heartfelt messages of support to sad friends. 

Dan nearly found himself tearing up at 3am one day when he was monitoring Phil’s conversation with his mother. Granted, Dan was exhausted and living on 2.5 hours of sleep the previous nights, but still. This Phil guy was doing things to him. 

“You still monitoring this guy?” Enrique said one day, wandering over to Dan, who was currently watching Phil text his friend PJ about a video idea. 

Dan bobbed his head half-heartedly, fixated on the conversation at hand about a lion stuffie. “You in love with him or somethin’, Howell?” his friend asked, poking Dan’s shoulder with a broad finger. 

“What? No. I don't even know the guy. And I only know his texts and internet history, not his entire personality,” Dan replied defensively, keeping his eyes glued to the screen. Phil was now editing his video on his computer while still maintaining conversation with his friend. 

“I dunno, Dan. They say that the internet history tells you all you need to know about a person,” Enrique chimed, looking over Dan’s shoulder to read his screen. “And you can view this guy’s videos before anyone else, too!” Dan felt his friend punch his shoulder from behind, chuckling dryly. “I should probably get going to my own desk before the Tanyanator comes for blood. See you 'round, Howell.” And then he was gone. 

Dan sighed and turned back to the screen, eager to see Phil edit his new video. 

¿?

Phil was Skyping his mother. And Dan couldn't get enough of it. Phil kept showing his mother different items which he had bought for his dad’s birthday, positively beaming at the camera. His raven hair was in a cute side fringe, not unlike Dan’s, which contrasted greatly with his pale skin and bright blue eyes. 

You could go swimming in those eyes, Dan thought to himself as Phil put aside a t-shirt and moved on to talking about his newest video. God, what a sap. 

Phil said goodbye to his mum a few minutes later and pulled up Twitter on his phone. Dan watched him scroll through various celebrities and social media influencers, liking some of the different tweets. Dan was hardly paying attention to that anymore, however. 

His mind was more focused on the man’s face. Dan had finally gotten around to watching some of Phil’s videos the previous night and couldn't stop thinking about him. His pristine jet black hair, his oceanic blue-green eyes, his razor- sharp cheekbones… 

Dan shook himself off, realising he was daydreaming slightly, and put his focus back on the man’s phone usage. Phil was picking up a conversation with his friend, Louise, asking her about her daughter. Adorable. 

¿?

Dan needed to find out what Phil’s address was. He wanted to meet this guy in person. He was just such a fucking sweetheart and Dan could not get enough of it. 

And so, he typed in Phil’s IP address into their search browser, waiting for his computer to pull up his whereabouts. There. The exact location of Phil’s laptop was blaring at him from the screen of his computer and Dan felt his chest warming up, a smile creeping onto his face. 

Dan copied down the address into his phone and went back to viewing Phil’s phone for the last time. It was Dan’s last day working in this part of the FBI before he would be promoted up to the National Security branch, instead of the boring old Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services branch. In short, he would no longer have to monitor strangers’ internet usage and would have much more regular work schedules! 

“What’re you smiling about, Danny?” Bea asked, looking over Dan’s shoulder. As per usual, she chose to roll her chair over instead of walking like a normal person. “You excited about your promotion?” she added, elbowing Dan in the side, grinning broadly. 

Dan gave his colleague an equally bright smile, his eyes twinkling joyously. “You bet I am. No more working sporadically from like 11 am until 4 am!” he replied, shimmying his shoulders excitedly. 

“What are you doing tonight? You know, to celebrate?” she asked, raising her eyebrows at her friend. 

Dan shrugged, peeking at the screen where Phil was currently making plans to go clubbing with PJ and another friend that evening. Convenient. “I was thinking of going out for some drinks, actually. Might meet some friends from outside work,” he replied. 

“Ah, sounds like fun. Too bad I’ll be stuck here monitoring Linda Barkley all evening,” Bea replied sadly, rolling her chair away. 

¿?

What exactly does one wear to meet someone they’ve been stalking online for a month? Apparently black ripped skinny jeans, a black button up shirt and black faux-leather Converse. Did Dan want to appear as dead inside to this literal sunshine? Apparently. 

Dan was in the midst of yet another nervous fringe check when his phone pinged with a text from his friend Ben, of whom he was going to the club to celebrate with. He wasn't going to go alone to a club, in case Phil hated him. Which, seeing how different their personalities seemed to be, was likely. 

“Hey!You ready?” Ben asked as Dan shut the door to his flat behind him, sticking his keys into his back pocket, “You look extremely goth tonight, not gonna lie.” Dan scowled at his friend and they made their way in the direction of the Underground station. 

¿?

45 minutes later, Dan was being deafened by the loud pumping music of a generic club. He was clutching a gin and tonic to his chest as he awkwardly bobbed on his knees to the outrageously loud thumping of an electronic pop song he didn't recognise. 

Ben was nowhere to be seen, having ditched Dan for a pretty girl in a short skirt and too much makeup almost as soon as they arrived. But, for once, Dan hardly cared. He was trying to crane his neck to find Phil amongst the crowd, looking for a flash of ebony hair or maybe a brightly coloured shirt. 

It was almost 11 by the time he found him. Or, when Phil found him. 

Dan was leaning against the bar, drumming his fingers on the countertop while taking a sip of G&T. He was starting to give up on his search, simply enjoying the bittersweet taste of the alcohol, feeling it course through his body at a million miles an hour. Maybe coming here just to run into someone he saw on the internet wasn't such a great idea… 

“Long day? Me too,” a voice said next to his ear. Dan nearly gave himself whiplash as he turned towards the source of none other than Phil Lester. The man Dan had been stalking for a month was just standing here in front of him, wearing a friendly smile and a bright blue button up shirt. He looked even hotter in person.   
Dan nodded stiffly. “Y-yeah, only got off work a few hours ago,” he replied, looking Phil up and down, trying to drink in his appearance. He was almost Dan’s height, minus an inch or so, and his eyes looked even prettier up close. Upon further inspection, Dan discovered that they were more of a kaleidoscope of blue, green and yellow, instead of just blue. It was intoxicating. 

“Do you want a drink? You’re almost finished with that one,” Phil said, his voice unusually low for what Dan normally heard in his videos and calls with his mum. Dan bobbed his head and let Phil take the drink from his hands, holding out his arm to try to get the attention of the bartender. “My name’s Phil, by the way. What’s your name?” Phil introduced, holding out a hand for Dan to shake. 

“Uh, Dan. My name is Dan,” Dan replied, taking the other man’s hand in his own. 

Phil beamed, handing Dan another glass of gin and tonic. Dan took the cold beverage from the blue-eyed boy’s hand, smiling back at him. This was gonna be a fun night.


	2. Through Our Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, a sequel

His fingers were cool against Dan’s chest, but it wasn't unpleasant or uninvited. They slipped their way under Dan’s shirt, simply trailing over the hills and valleys of his skin. Dan groaned, leaning his head back against the wall he was pressed up against. 

“Mmph, Phil,” Dan mumbled as Phil moved his lips from Dan’s mouth to his neck. Phil stepped back a few inches and Dan whined under his breath. The separation was short lived as Phil simply pulled Dan’s shirt off and tossed it to the side. 

Phil returned his lips to Dan’s for a soft peck and whispered against them, “You’re needy tonight, aren't you?” Dan shivered as the heat of Phil’s breath fanned across his face. He nodded his head vigorously and pulled Phil in for a passionate kiss, gripping onto the back of Phil’s neck. 

This had been going on for almost two months now. Dan wasn't sure what “this” was but he sure as hell loved it. He only lived in his own flat about 30% of the time because he was always at Phil’s due to it 1. being closer to work and 2. being _Phil’s_  flat. 

Phil’s hands were working at the button of Dan’s trousers when all of a sudden, the sound of their heavy breaths and moans was interrupted by the familiar sound of Dan’s ringtone. Phil paused his actions, his hands still on the waistband of Dan’s jeans. “Are you fucking kidding me?  _Now_?” Dan blanched, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. Phil moved his hands away from Dan’s jeans and hooked them around Dan’s waist, nuzzling his face in the crook of Dan’s neck. Dan held the phone up to his ear. “Sabrina, this better be important because I was about to get fucking laid,” he said, rolling his eyes. He felt Phil smiling against him. Dan wouldn't dare talk that way with anyone else, but Sabrina was his colleague and friend, so it didn't matter what he said. 

“Oh, God. I did _not_  need to know that, Dan,” Sabrina said into the line, “Anyway, you’re needed here. There's some sort of attempted hackers from...well we don't know yet. That's why we need you here to help figure that out.” 

Dan groaned, rubbing his face with his free hand. “Probably Russia,” he muttered, standing up straight from leaning against the wall. Phil stepped back to give him room, going over to sit on the edge of his bed. Dan leaned down and grabbed his black t-shirt from the floor, slipping it over his head. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” he added, not bothering to hear a reply before he shoved his phone into his back pocket again. 

“Unfortunately, I am needed at work, so can I call a rain check?” 

Phil reached his arms out and pulled Dan closer by the bottom of his shirt, pouting. “But we were having so much fun,” he said sadly. Dan plopped himself in Phil’s lap, kissing him softly on the lips. “Come over after?” His voice was low, almost at a whisper and dripping with hope. It sent a chill through Dan's body. 

Dan nodded, smiling into yet another kiss before he clambered off of Phil’s lap. “Definitely. I’ll see you later,” he replied, grabbing his shoes from various corners where he kicked them off. He waved goodbye and then he left Phil’s room, letting himself out of the front door. 

¿?

Dan scanned his badge on the barcode reader at the front entrance, nodding hello to the security guard, Blaise. He made his way over to the lift, pressing the button and stepping back to wait for the familiar ding. 

“You called in as well?” Enrique, still one of Dan’s closest work friends, asked as he sauntered up next to Dan by the lift. He had been promoted not long after Dan. 

Dan sighed, nodding. “And right as I was about to get down and dirty with Phil,” he replied cheekily, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at his friend. The doors opened and they stepped inside together. Enrique pressed the -3 button and the doors slide closed behind them. 

“You and that guy you stalked are _still_  a thing? Damn, this is the longest relationship you’ve had since I’ve known you!” Enrique smirked slyly, earning an elbow in the side from his coworker. “Does he know about your job?” he asked as they made their way out of the lift, walking side by side. 

Dan’s cheeks heated up. “Not really? I mean, he knows I work for the FBI and such, but not much else,” Dan explained. They scanned their badges on yet another door, which promptly clicked open to let them inside. "He  _definitely_ doesn't know about the stalking." Enrique smirked, shaking his head slightly disapprovingly. 

The control room was a large room with many desks all situated with high tech computers and various different people, all typing furiously. The desks were all set on levels, all going up to where there was a huge two-way glass at the back. The head of National Security was supposedly situated in there, watching their every move, but no one was really sure. For all they knew, it was only there to deter them from lazing around. 

“Ah, Howell, Morales, good of you to show up,” Tate Cortez, one of the heads of the National Security Department said, walking briskly over towards the two men. She looked a bit tired with bags under her eyes, but still surprisingly put together for someone in charge of the country’s national security. Her dark brown hair was tied back into a sleek ponytail, not a strand poking out. Dan wondered how she managed to always look pristine and ready to go, despite often working 12 hours a day.

“Off to your computers, you have work to do. The country’s right to privacy is in your hands.” 

“No pressure,” Dan joked, whispering in Enrique’s ear before making his way over to his desk. Dan sat down at his computer and logged in his details. He took a deep, calming breath before he pulled up the file he had been sent from his boss. _You got this, Howell, don't worry,_  he thought, watching his screen load. “It’s not like the entire country is at threat or anything.” 

¿?

Dan finally finished work again at almost three am, yawning every few seconds. It turned out to have been a couple of highly qualified—but clearly not qualified enough—people somewhere in New York that had been trying to hack into a highly classified database which contained all the personal information of people living in the US. Thank goodness someone noticed. 

He barely managed to drive home without crashing, his eyelids heavy like lead and his mouth open in an almost perpetual yawn. Dan parked in Phil’s designated parking space and hopped out, shutting the door behind him. He stumbled up the two flights of stairs leading to Phil’s door, rubbing his eyes tiredly. His keys jingled as he pulled them out of his back pocket, nearly dropping them in his exhaustion. Dan tossed his keys on the kitchen countertop and toed off his shoes, wandering into the hallway and running his hands through his hair. 

Phil, unsurprisingly, was fast asleep in his bed. His laptop, which was lying haphazardly next to him, was shining dim blue light onto Phil’s sleeping frame, letting Dan view his chest rising and falling. Dan smiled fondly and moved the laptop onto Phil’s bedside table, closing it down and putting Phil’s glasses on top. 

Dan yawned once more and pulled off all of his clothes, minus his boxers, and clambered into the left side of the bed. He scooted closer to Phil, sidling up behind him and wrapping his arms around him as he spooned the raven-haired man from behind. 

Phil stirred slightly from his sleep, rolling over to face him. In the dark, Dan could just barely see the outline of his gorgeous face. “You’re back late,” he muttered, draping an arm over Dan’s waist. 

Dan shrugged, leaning forward to kiss him softly on the mouth. “Sorry, there was a bit of a mishap, but we’re all good, now.” 

“Good,” Phil whispered, turning back around and pressing his back firmly against Dan’s chest. “Go to sleep, baby, it's late,” he whispered. 

Dan giggled, blushing at the nickname. He pecked the back of Phil’s head for a moment and pulled Phil close, holding him like a teddy bear. 

“Good night, Phil.”

Phil didn't answer. He had already fallen fast asleep again. Dan followed suit not long after, pressed up against his favourite person. 

¿?

Dan placed his coffee down on his desk, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms out, yawning audibly. It was nearing ten o’clock and he hadn't stopped working in almost eight hours. His head was beginning to ache dully from overstimulation and his eyes burned from the constant screen time. 

“Tired, mate?” Hayfa, the girl that sat next to Dan, asked. She had thick rimmed glasses on, which had fallen low on the bridge of her nose, framing a pair of almost-black brown eyes. She looked tired, her eyes slightly bloodshot and faint bags forming under them.

Dan nodded, yawning again and looking around the room. He was in the usual control room, set on the second row of desks. There were eight levels, all set with nine to 11 desks, situated with computers and files. Only a few of the desks were occupied currently, due to a low level of “suspicious activity” that week. Dan and Hayfa were the only people still needed on the second level. “Seriously, why do we have to work so much? I’m _exhausted_ ,” Hayfa whined, resting her arms on the desk and nuzzling her face into the crevice of her right elbow. Her curly black hair splayed out on her back and onto the desk, like water cascading over a pile of rocks. 

Dan shrugged, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. “No idea, but I can't wait to go home after this,” Dan replied, returning his hands to his keyboard. 

“You got someone to go home to?” Hayfa asked after a moment, sitting up straight again and straightening out her glasses. 

Dan nodded, turning his gaze towards his computer screen. “Yeah, er, I do,” he replied, his face flushing violently. He wasn't sure if he should tell her or not, unsure of how she might react to him being with a guy. 

Hayfa raised her eyebrows, elbowing him in the side lightly. “Well, come on, tell me about them. Are they your _girlfriend?_ ” she teased, smirking at him. Dan’s face flushed even darker and Hayfa’s eyes widened, sitting up in her seat and pulling her elbow away. “Is it a _boyfriend?_ ” 

Should he lie? Should he say that it was a girlfriend? Dan wasn't even sure if Phil was his boyfriend at all. “Uhh, pretty much, yeah,” he admitted, avoiding eye contact. His eyes instead trained themself on a loose thread on Hayfa’s shirt. 

“What do you mean 'pretty much’? Is he _not_ your boyfriend?” 

Dan sighed, running his hands through his hair. “I’m not sure. We haven't had the talk yet, but I would assume as much, seeing as I’m at his flat literally all the time,” he admitted, finally turning back to look at her. She didn't look judgemental or angry at all, just inquisitive. Her eyes were wide with curiosity, as if she wanted him to continue. “Do you have someone at home to go to?” He desperately wanted to change the subject off of himself. 

“Yeah, a husband,” she replied, looking down at the watch on her wrist, “Congratulations, you have successfully distracted me and now we can go home.” She held up her watch, showing that it was exactly 10:16. _Finally._  

Dan stood up from his seat, grabbed his bag from under his desk and shrugged his coat on. It was freezing outside. “Let’s bounce,” Hayfa said, pushing her chair under the desk. 

They both scanned their badges on the door and, with a satisfying buzz, the door unlocked. Dan pushed it open, stepping back to hold it open for Hayfa to pass. He scanned his badge to leave and waved goodbye to Hayfa before jogging in the opposite direction from her, heading for his car. 

Finally he could see Phil. 

¿?

Phil was passed out on the couch when Dan made it home. His face was crushed against one of the arms of the couch, one of his arms dangling off of it and ghosting the wooden floor. His glasses were crooked on his face, his hair falling into his closed eyes. Dan sighed, dropping his bag at the door and toeing off his shoes. God, Phil looked adorable. 

Dan wandered into Phil’s room and grabbed Phil’s green and blue duvet, dragging it off of the bed and down the long hallway. He took his glasses off and draped it over Phil. He was just turning to go home when he felt something grab his wrist. Dan looked down and saw Phil peering up at him with wide yet tired eyes. “Stay,” he whispered. Dan grinned, pulling out of Phil’s grip and pulled aside the duvet. He clambered unceremoniously over Phil and situated himself behind him, crushed between the couch and the gorgeous man with his raven hair and dazzling eyes. 

“Hey, Dan?” 

Dan, who had been close to falling asleep already, hummed in response. “What are we?” Phil asked, rolling around to face him. He nearly fell off the couch in the process. 

Dan was certainly awake now. “Do you mean what I think you mean, Phil?” he clarified, praying that Phil did in fact mean what Dan thought he meant. He had never hoped for something more than right now. 

“We’ve known each other for two months now, Dan. We’ve gone on a few dates, you’ve basically moved in, we’re always together. Not to mention we’ve screwed in almost every room of this flat and yours.” Dan blushed, thinking back to the many times they had gone at it in both flats. He distinctly remembered nearly getting a concussion from falling off of Phil’s washing machine that one time. “What I’m trying to say is, Dan, will you do me the honour and be my boyfriend?” 

“For someone who hates cheese, you sure are a cheesy fucker,” Dan replied. He pulled Phil closer by the back of his neck, kissing him on the mouth electrifyingly. “Of course, Phil.” 

¿?

He had to tell him. He couldn't keep hiding it from him, especially now that they were officially dating. 

Dan had the realisation after they had been official for almost four months, having known each other for six. He wanted Phil to know more about what his actual job was, seeing as he knew all about Phil’s videos and had even appeared in four of them, now. He obviously couldn't tell Phil all about everything he did behind the scenes, but he didn't feel like he could keep it from him anymore. 

Of course, Phil already knew Dan worked for the FBI, but he knew nothing past that. Especially not the fact that Dan found him by watching his screen for days. He wasn't sure whether or not he should tell Phil that for fear of Phil freaking out and leaving. That was less than ideal. 

When Phil got home from Tesco a few hours later, laiden with several filled shopping bags, Dan was still pacing the floor of the living room. He heard the familiar rustling followed by the clang of keys being dropped on the counter and forced himself out of his thoughts, wandering into the kitchen to help. 

“Hey, babe, get everything you needed?” he asked, taking two of the plastic bags off his boyfriend’s arm. 

Phil nodded, placing the last of the bags on the stove top. “Yeah. I got you that cereal you like and the brand of toothpaste you like,” he replied, pulling out a box of Crunchy Nut from the plastic bag, followed by Colgate toothpaste. Had they already gotten to that stage in their relationship? The stage where they knew exactly what toothpaste the other liked? Dan's heart skipped-no,  _soared_ at the thought.

They spent the next few minutes in comfortable silence only broken by the sound of the bags rustling or the opening and closing of cupboards. Occasionally, their arms would brush, sending tingles up both men’s spines, but otherwise, they moved with perfect fluidity. They never overstepped each other or ran into each other, simply weaving back and forth, reaching over each other’s head and under each other’s arms to put things away. 

Once they finished, they wandered into Phil’s room and collapsed on top of the covers together. Dan scooted over, resting his head on Phil’s chest like a pillow while Phil wrapped his arms around his middle. 

_Just rip it off like a plaster_ , Dan told himself as they laid there in the peace and quiet. 

“Have I ever told you about my job?” Dan asked, tilting his head up to look at Phil. He peeked down at him through his glasses, smiling and shaking his head. 

“I thought you couldn't tell me anything. You know, confidentiality and what not,” Phil replied, running his fingers through Dan's hair habitually. Dan loved when he did that. 

“I stalked you online,” Dan blurted, mentally kicking himself. He sat up, putting his face in his hands as his cheeks burned like a fireplace. He could have eased into it, but no. 

Phil raised his eyebrows, sitting up and tilting his head sideways. He looked exactly like a confused cartoon puppy with his bright eyes and curious expression. “As in, you stalked my Instagram or something? We all do that, Dan.” Phil said, clearly missing Dan’s point entirely. 

Dan shook his head, peeking at him through his fingers. His cheeks were still bright red. “No, like creepily. Before we met,” he explained, wanting to jump out a window. “Before I was promoted to National Security, I worked in the Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services branch and I had to monitor your screen for a while to see that you weren't dangerous or money laundering or something.

“I became fascinated with you, reading all of your texts as you were writing them and watching your video calls,” he rambled, feeling way too aware of the man watching him intensely, “I watched you scroll through Tumblr and YouTube for hours and then I watched all of your videos. When I saw that you were planning to go to that pub that night, I took my chances and went out with my friend to 'celebrate my promotion' but I was literally just there to hook up or meet you or something.” 

There was a long silence between them as Phil tried to process everything Dan had said. He had his eyes glued to one of the colourful squares of his checkered duvet, toying with his lip between his teeth. Dan’s heart sped up with every second they spent in silence and he was just about to get up and sprint out of there, Phil finally spoke up. “So the memes are right?” he just said. 

Dan opened and closed his mouth several times, looking distinctly like a fish. Finally, he said, “Er, to an extent. We only really monitor people that are 'high risk’ like billionaires or high-influence people like you.” 

“I have high influence?” 

“Phil, you have millions of subscribers who would probably murder someone if you asked them to, I’d say so, yes.” Phil punched his shoulder, giggling softly. “So you’re not mad that I stalked you?” 

Phil shook his head. “It was technically your job. I probably would have done the same and stalked you in bar or something as well,” he admitted, his cheeks turning a vibrant shade of pink which contrasted greatly with his near-translucent skin. “I’m glad you stalked me, anyway.” Phil reached out and pulled Dan into his chest, laying back down on his pillows and stroking Dan's hair like a puppy. 

Dan grinned. “I’m glad, too,” he whispered, turning off Phil’s bedside light and engulfing them in darkness. 

“You know something?” Phil asked suddenly, catching Dan by surprise. Dan hummed in response, playing with a loose thread on Phil’s t-shirt. “I think I’m in love with you.” 

Grinning broadly, his heart soaring and his thoughts singing, Dan replied, “I think I’m in love with you, too.” 


End file.
